Jamie's Experience

Jamie has been working in video for almost ten years, first as a news camera operator in London and later as a producer of corporate videos in the USA and across the world.

A few years ago, he was brought on to start the video production department at TopLine Comms, an integrated marketing agency. It was just a two-person team at first, but now Jamie’s in charge of a full-blown department of nine people, producing high-end filmed videos and animations for clients ranging from small start-ups to large organisations like Shell, CNBC and Cambridge University Press.

The Learning Moment

“Often, audio treatment gets overlooked in video,” Jamie says. “It’s something we’re particularly conscious of and it was good to take the online course to brush up on some fundamental audio skills. Whether it’s something new to you or you’ve been working with audio all your life, it certainly doesn’t hurt to know about the kind of EQ to use, how to balance out your mix or simply just to know how much reverb is too much.”

Indeed, he learned so much from it that he tasked his whole team with taking the course, and each of them, although already experienced in video, has learned something new.

“For our lead producer, the course has helped her gain a technical understanding of how the sound is recorded and then manipulated in post,” Jamie says. “This helps her on the shoot as well as while edit producing. Instead of just doing an online grade of a finished video, she can help our editor do advanced audio processing and sound mixing to really make our videos stand out.”

This shot is from a TV commercial that Jamie's team was commissioned to produce, advertising the EY Entrepreneur of the Year awards.

What's Next?

For Jamie and his team, the goal is to become the leading independent video production company in London, and to do that, he says, "We’re going to keep developing the skills within our team and building our client base as we go."

Some Final Advice

When I ask Jamie for any tips or advice he'd give to people just starting out, his response is to be inquisitive.

“Explore new topics and opportunities. Be dynamic. Get excited about what you’re doing! It’s also really important to get as much experience as you can, even if the pay is low. Surround yourself with others who are passionate about the industry.”